Japan PM furious as US marine faces rape investigation

Japan’s prime minister today called for measures to prevent a recurrence of crimes by American soldiers in the country after a US Marine was arrested on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and other top officials condemned the attack, saying more needs to be done to make sure such crimes don’t occur.

Tyrone Luther Hadnott, a 38-year-old Marine from Camp Courtney in Okinawa, was arrested yesterday but has not yet been charged with any offence.

“There is the sense that we’ve had enough. We called on the US to strengthen discipline and prevent crimes from happening again,” said Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said, adding the attack could “complicate” disputes over American bases.

Mr Fukuda also condemned the attack, calling in the Diet, Japan’s parliament, for action to prevent more crimes.

“This is unforgivable,” Mr Fukuda said. “The government will firmly negotiate with the US. We have to first find out what happened. We will do all we can to prevent a recurrence.”

US military and civilian officials have expressed regret over the assault.

Under a mutual security pact, the United States has about 50,000 troops deployed around Japan. Most of them are based on Okinawa, where tensions there over troop-related crime and disputes over land use are common.

Although the marine’s arrest has been top news in Japan, there was no sign of unrest or protests in Okinawa. The three Americans convicted of rape in 1995 each served prison terms of six and a half to seven years.